The national duo defeated the American duo of Casey Ratzlaff and Conner Stroud by a doubles 6-3.
The joys of Chilean tennis at the Parapan American Games do not stop. After the gold medal won by Francisco Cayulef, it was the turn of Brayan Soto and Alexander Cataldo who won the bronze medal in men’s doubles.
A medal which enhances the result of the national delegation and gives it revenge on the Soto-Cataldo duo, eliminated Thursday evening in the semi-final after a dramatic match against the Argentine duo composed of Gustavo Fernández (three times Grand Champion Slam in doubles) and Ezequiel Casco. The Chileans actually had two match points in the deciding super tiebreak, but ended up losing 9-11.
Now it was all smiles. They played excellent tennis and clearly beat Americans Casey Ratzlaff and Conner Stroud by a doubles 6-3, securing third place at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games.
They add to the gold of Cayulef
Early in the morning, the first joys of national tennis arrived. Francisco Cayulef won the gold medal in the quad category after beating Canadian Robert Shaw 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 after more than two hours of play.
The tennis player from Melipilla experienced all the possible emotions throughout the match, to the point of being at 3-1 and serving in the second set. Everything was calm at the time, but that’s when the storm hit. He was unable to protect his serve and ended up losing the set despite having a championship point in the tenth game.
Despite everything, he recomposed himself and gave Chile a gold medal. It was 6-4 in the third set. At the end of the meeting, he addressed the participants present on the center court of the National Stadium Tennis Center and delivered a powerful message: “Dream, dream, work to dream. Sooner or later dreams come true . Thank you God, thank you everyone, I’m really excited,” he commented in tears.
Amanda Cerna and Vicente Almonacid also celebrate
Athletics has awarded our country a new medal, thanks to para-athlete Amanda Cerna. The Chiloé native finished fourth in the T47 400 meters, but Venezuelan Lisbeli Vera, who came second, was disqualified and ran the list.
“It’s a shame for my partner, but these are things that happen in sport. I have mixed feelings, I don’t like what happened to my partner, but I’m happy to give a medal to my country “, said Cerna upon learning that he had won the bronze medal.
Then she concluded: “I’m super happy and very excited, because I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. “I knew I was up against some very good athletes, but there was always the hope of winning a medal.”
On the other hand, Vicente Almonacid celebrated the last day of para-swimming. The 200-meter medley gold medalist now adds his second medal of these Parapan American Games with his second-place finish in the SB8 100-meter breaststroke.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
